Why Can't I?
by PhoenixRae
Summary: UPDATED Ch4: She thought she was over him but one adventurefilled school year later, old feelings started to resurface...
1. I'm Over Him!

**Summary:** _She thought she was over him; but one adventure-filled school year later, old feelings started to resurface..._

**Disclaimer:** _I don't own any of the Harry Pottter characters; they are all product of JK Rowling's imagination._

**PhoenixRae's Note:** _This might come as a surprise (shock even) to my regular readers. Since I started writing Harry Potter fanfiction I never wrote a story centering around this two characters. I am no big fan of this ship; I made it loud and clear. I may have hinted of a past relationship or an unrequited relationship between this two characters in some of my fics, but an out and out fic about 'em has never been attempted by yours truly so please be nice and your input, opinion, criticism are all welcome. Thanks!_

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**I. I'm Over Him!**

AAARGH! WHY does his face have to keep on popping in her mind? She was over him for Merlin's sake! Hadn't she proven that by taking a facy towards members of the opposite sex? Heck, she dated quite a few guys to prove to everyone she was over her childhood girlish crush on that blasted Boy Who Lived, and now...

"Get outta there," fifteen-year-old Ginny Weasley hissed at no one in particular, her usually smooth forehead creased to an ugly frown. "I don't want you pestering me so go. Go find someone else to bother," she growled.

Garden Gnomes cowered at the venom lacing her tone. Even Hermione's bandy-legged cat, Crookshanks, hissed at Ginny when the poor thing walked past the moody redhead and heard her snapping at no one in particular. It was the summer after fourth year; she was back at the Burrow and Hermione was already over at their place since yesterday. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were lobbying to get Harry Potter, Ron and Hermione's best mate and the one person the Dark Lord wanted to defeat since he belched out his first cry almost sixteen years ago, to come and live with them at the Burrow for the remainder of summer.

Under any other circumstances Ginny would be as excited as her brother and close female friend was to have Harry stay with them, but after everything that happened the year before, Ginny started questioning where Harry _actually_ stood in her life now. She and Harry had gotten closer last year than the previous years since she met him, but that was mainly due to the fact that she got it in her head that there was no way, no how Harry Potter would pay the slightest bit of attention to his best mate's kid sister. It was pure coincidence that she and Harry were somewhat _thrown_ together the year before because Ron and Hermione had Prefect duties to do and Harry was the odd man out.

A pair of loud cracking sound manifested on either side of Ginny as she sat gloomily on the family swing overlooking the yard. She had been sitting here pretty much all day and hadn't moved a muscle; she even skipped lunch because she didn't want to hear all the talk about _how_ they'd get Harry away from his relatives in Surrey. Her twin brothers, who just made their entrance by Apparating on either side of her, suggested over lunch that they enchant a car so it could fly them to Surrey and back. Ron was all for it and even Hermione, the least likely person Ginny expected to agree to such outrageous plan, was gunning for Fred and George's idea. But Mrs. Weasley quashed their hopes by reprimanding them of the dangers lurking outside at the moment.

"Who rained on your parade, Ginny?" Fred asked, sitting on the empty swing beside her and slowly rocked himself back and forth.

"Did Ron finally got up the courage to ask Hermione out and now they're all googly-eyed with each other?" George attempted to puncture the somewhat gloomy atmosphere with humour, but that attempt went straight down the U-bend.

"Hmm...something's amiss here, brother," observed Fred, his green eyes watching their kid sister carefully.

"You're right," agreed George. "Who do you want us to use as our guinea pig, Gin? Just say who and we'll make sure that poor sucker pays."

"No one. Just leave me alone, please." She tried shooing them away, but the more she pushed them, the more intrigued her brothers became.

"We're not moving a muscle until you tell us what's wrong. Mom was worried when you didn't bother to join us for lunch," George looped his arm around Ginny's swing chain and pushed his sister gently.

"I'm fine, nothing to worry about me here. I just...want to be left alone," Ginny tried to cover her frustration with a sigh. She loved her brothers to bits, but growing up in a big family such as hers, _privacy_ was always an issue, like for instance now when all she wanted was to be left alone to deal with her sudden Harry Potter problem.

"Are you sure?" Fred was never the worrywart, but when it came to his youngest and only sister, he only wanted her to be happy and safe.

"I said I'm fine," she repeated. "Now go back to your shop and make some more money selling your stuff. Don't mind little ol' me here."

"We closed shop for the day, Gin," announced George.

"What?" Ginny lifted her head and met George's gaze. "Why?" She knew her brothers _never_ closed their joke shop, not even on holidays. Well, except during Christmas; they wanted to enjoy Christmas Day with their family and not in Diagon Alley selling their products to troublemaking kids and adults alike.

"For safety reasons," was Fred's vague reply.

Now Ginny was doubly curious. She forgot about what was bugging her moments before and was now worried about what happened to make her brothers break their shop rules and closed early on a weekday. On weekends she understood _why_ they wanted to close shop early, but on a weekday when everyone was up and about wanting to spend money on practical joke stuff to while away the long summer days?

"What do you mean 'for safety reasons'?" She looked from Fred to George then back to Fred, urging either one of them to tell her exactly what happened.

"There was a near attack at Diagon Alley earlier today," George began and sagged to a crouching position beside Ginny. "Death Eaters were being their usual menacing self and drove people away. Hexes and curses were thrown left, right and center. Lucky for us Fred was quick in thinking of locking up the front doors and told everyone who were inside to duck when Death Eaters passed by our shop."

"Oh my...did the Death Eaters break your store windows or the door when they saw it closed?"

"They blew the window up; shattered glass everywhere. Good thing no one was near the window so there weren't any injuries," answered Fred.

"Thank goodness for that," sighed Ginny. Now she felt like a heel for thinking _she_ had the world's biggest problem when her twin brothers faced near mortal peril when Death Eaters attacked Diagon Alley and their place of work earlier that day. "Did all the shops in Diagon Alley closed down?"

"For today they did," Fred nodded. "Ministry personnel swamped the area as soon as the first store window blew up."

"Tomorrow it's going to be clean-up day for most stores. The Ministry condemned the entire area for the rest of today while they do their investigation," George explained.

"So now we're here at home _and_ wanting to help our kid sister out with her problem," finished Fred.

Ginny cocked an eyebrow and turned looked at her other brother. "I told you there's nothing wrong with me. I'm fine."

"No, you're not fine. You're scaring the Gnomes away with your nasty glare," George pointed. "Now I'm not saying that's a bad thing. Actually, it's a good thing that you're scaring those buggers away without trying to pull 'em out of their hiding places. It helps lessen our numerous jobs here at home."

"_But_ what is not good is _you_ sitting out here moping _all day_," Fred pointed out sounding deadly worried. "The last time you were like this was when you were about five or six and you got into a scuffle with Ron over something because he was being a git. Did you have a fight with him again? Or did you and _Hermione_ fight?"

"Come off it, Fred!" scolded George, "There's no reason for Ginny and Hermione to butt heads."

"Hey, it _could_ happen!" argued an offended Fred, glaring at his twin brother. "The world is not perfect, you know? Even the best of friends fight," looking down at Ginny he hastily added, "well, maybe not _the_ best of friends, but close friends perhaps?"

Ginny let out an exasperated sigh. She knew what her brothers were up to. They were fishing. But they could fish all they want, she wouldn't tell them anything. This was her problem and she'd solve it _her_ way.

"Thanks for your concern, guys, but really I'm fine." She pushed herself off the swing and turned to face her two worried brothers. "And I'm glad you two didn't get hurt during the attack at Diagon Alley." She walked away from her brothers without another word. She could feel their eyes on her back, but she kept right on walking until she disappeared inside the house.

She passed by Ron and Hermione in the kitchen. They looked like they were deep in conversation about something so hush-hush Ginny didn't even bother stopping by to snoop. She made her way upstairs and into her room. She has got to find a way to keep her mind from wandering about the last person on earth she should be fancying about—_again!_

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**TBC**


	2. Why Are You Avoiding Me?

**Summary:** _She thought she was over him; but one adventure-filled school year later, old feelings started to resurface..._

**Disclaimer:** _I don't own any of the Harry Pottter characters; they are all product of JK Rowling's imagination._

**PhoenixRae's Note:** _Chapter 3 is currently being typed. I don't know how soon I'll upload that chapter. The ball starts to get rolling in that chapter._

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**II. Why Are You Avoiding Me?**

HARRY ARRIVED at the Burrow two and a half weeks into the summer holidays. He was close to pulling his hairs out at the Dursleys from boredom. He was itching for some news from the wizarding world, but none came. The letters he received from Ron and Hermione were vague and far between. The last letter he received was from Hermione; she sent it to him a week into the holidays. She had been invited to stay at the Burrow for the remainder of the summer while her parents took a trip to Australia and New Zealand. Harry wished he was at the Burrow right now stuffing himself with good, home cooked meals prepared by Ron's mother, Mrs. Weasley.

He was beginning to lose hope of ever leaving the Dursley to go stay with _anyone_ of his wizard friends. Heck, he'd even stay at Sirius' old family home even if it pained him to be around there after what happened a month ago just to get out of this place. He couldn't get over what went down in the basement of the Ministry of Magic and how, in his naïve, careless ways he lost another person that meant a lot to him.

Harry was brought out of his self-imposed misery (he had been berating himself since that night at the Ministry) when he heard Hedwig's ardent hooting. The snowy white owl swooped in to his widely open bedroom window bearing a rolled-up piece of parchment tied to her leg. Harry perked up when he saw the parchment and reached out his arm for Hedwig to land on.

"What have you got here, Hedwig?" Harry petted his owl and walked the animal to where he set her cage up on his desk all the while unrolling the piece of parchment tied around her leg. He opened the owl's cage door and told his bird to go in and have a drink and nibble on her favourite treat while he read the letter.

_Dearest Harry,_

_How's your summer so far? I'm at the Burrow already. I've been here a week already. So much stuff to tell you, Ron & I can't wait to talk to you in person. We would've gone and called you up, but we were under strict orders by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley not to wander around by ourselves so we're pretty much stuck here at the Burrow. Fred and George…well, you'll know soon enough. Just wait for a call or something. You'll be out of there in no time, I can promise you that. Ron & I are discussing ways to bail you out of there, but so far our plans of a 'rescue' were foiled by Mrs. Weasley. Even Fred and George are pitching in ways to get you to join us right away. We really miss you, Harry. See you soon._

_Much Love,_

_Hermione (and Ron kept on bugging me to write his name on here too)_

Harry read the letter for a second time, a ghost of a smile appearing on his face as he read the last parts of Hermione's letter. At last he was finally leaving this place. He knew he'd wait a while for his 'rescue team' to arrive; it wasn't easy smuggling him around without alerting others of his whereabouts so everyone had to be careful. He wished the Weasley's old Ford Anglia was still available; that flying car could sure come in handy right now.

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_CRACK! CRACK!_

Harry jumped at the pair of loud cracking sound that came from his bedroom. He was left home alone by the Dursleys who were invited to attend a summer festival of some sort (Aunt Petunia didn't give him much detail, except to warn him that they'd be out for the rest of the afternoon and most of the night) and was whiling away some time in the living room watching something on the telly when he heard the sound.

His hand quickly flew to his wand, which he kept tucked behind him (he knew Mad-Eye would throttle him if he found out he was still keeping his wand stashed away there), and slowly crept out to the hallway leading to the stairs. He heard voices, a pair of male voices, arguing upstairs in his room. They sounded oddly familiar to him and yet he couldn't figure out whose voice they belonged to. He climbed the stairs carefully, making sure the steps wouldn't creak and alert the intruders of his presence.

As he reached the top landing, Harry stopped just outside his door and listened once again to the voices.

"Are you sure a special license to use the Muggles' fireplace has been approved by the Ministry?" asked the first voice who sounded like Fred Weasley's, but Harry wasn't entirely sure; Fred and his twin, George, not only looked so much alike, they sounded very much alike too!

"I talked to Tonks. She said she had to go through numerous channels, but after she gave them some wild excuse on _why_ we must get Harry out of this place, they soon relented," answered the second voice.

"But they gave us a time limit?" the first voice sounded incredulous.

"I know," agreed the second voice. "That was the catch. So we have to make sure Harry's all packed and ready to go in forty-five minutes."

"Great. We already wasted _five_ out of those forty-five minutes."

"That's why we have to hustle up. You go make sure Harry's things are packed and ready to be shipped while I go search for our guest of honour."

"What about the Muggles?"

"They're out. According to Dung, they received an invitation to attend a _valid_ Muggle party this time."

"Alright. You go fetch Harry while I get his stuff ready."

"You go do that and I—_aaah!_"

Harry jumped back the same time one of the Weasley twins jumped back as well. Harry didn't expect George—or Fred, he wasn't sure which one was this since his heart was still palpitating from shock—to open the door.

"Sweet mother of Merlin, Harry! Wha'cha doin' there?" demanded George who was rubbing his chest where his heart was and calmed his nerves.

"I-I heard noises so I came up here to investigate," Harry explained and looked over the redhead's shoulder at the other twin who was busy packing his stuff up. "What are you two doing here?"

"We're here to take you to the Burrow, mate," answered Fred holding a pair of clean black socks. "Are _these_," he gestured around Harry's small bedroom, "all _your_ stuff, Harry? We're not missing anything else?"

All his prized possessions were locked with him in his dingy bedroom the Dursleys begrudgingly gave him four years ago.

"Yeah. And my Firebolt's in the cabinet," he pointed at the large and old brown two-door cabinet by the door.

"Alright. I'll get these packed up and Apparate it with me to the Burrow," Fred announced and started to move around the room.

"Right," nodded George before turning to look back at Harry. "Now _you_, my friend, will be traveling by Floo to our house," he informed the almost sixteen year old.

"How? Uncle Vernon covered the fireplace up with bricks after what happened the last time."

"He _what!_" Fred and George said at the same time. Apparently they weren't expecting a huge glitch to their plan.

"You heard me. After what happened when you last picked me up here two years ago, Uncle Vernon was furious and when he finally got the house fixed up, he specifically told the contractor to cover up the fireplace," he explained. "The contractor thought my uncle was mad for wanting to do that, but he did anyway."

"Your uncle's mental," snorted George who looked very crestfallen. "We'll need to find _another_ way to get Harry out of here."

"Can't we do what we did last year when Mad-Eye and them rescued me from here?" Harry suggested.

"Too risky, Harry," Fred said, locking up Harry's trunk and turned to grab Hedwig's empty cage. Harry let the owl out earlier that day to exercise; she hadn't been back since this afternoon.

"What do we do then?" Harry looked at one twin after the other.

"We can always _un_cover the fireplace, can we not?" George turned to Harry, an eyebrow arched in query.

"I-I suppose. The fireplace is still there, it's just covered up with bricks," he shrugged.

"Excellent. I'll just make the bricks disappear then and we're good to go." George turned to Fred and said, "Hurry up with those and Apparate out of here. Harry and I will go downstairs and take the bricks covering the fireplace off. Give Mom and them the head's up that Harry's on his way."

"Aye, aye, captain," Fred stood in mock attention and gave George a phony salute.

Harry followed George downstairs and into the living room where the bricked fireplace was. George looked like he was deep in thought as he looked at the covered way then took his wand out from the inside of his robes, gave it a flick and swish, muttered something and the bricks blasted open. Harry jumped back in shock and watched in horror as pieces of bricks flew across the Dursley's spic-and-span living room, creating a big mess that Harry knew would drive his aunt and uncle up the wall. But at that very moment he didn't give a damn about what they'd do. He was just happy he was finally getting out of there and rejoin his friends.

"They'll sure be pissed about this," Harry muttered as he pushed some bricks with his foot out of the way.

"It's their own fault that they patched this thing up. Didn't they know a fireplace is a very vital part of anyone's household?" George sounded all know-it-all it was ridiculous.

"Not when they know witches and wizards use it as a means to get from one place to another," answered Harry and stepped inside the fireplace. He looked around the cramped portal then extended his hand out, "I s'pose you brought some floo powder with you, didn't you?"

"Of course I did!" George gave him a toothy grin and dumped a small sack full of floo powder into his open hand. "You know what to do now," George stepped back and watched.

Harry took a couple of deep breaths, his eyes fixed on George before yelling out "_the Burrow!_" and dumped his handful of floo powder.

He was engulfed by greenish flames, his last vision was of George Apparating out of the Dursley's living room, leaving the mess they created behind.

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WHERE ARE they? Shouldn't they be here by now?" Hermione was pacing back and forth in front of Ron and Ginny who were seated on the couch in the Burrow's living room. She kept on glancing at her wristwatch every two seconds in anticipation.

"Will you relax, Hermione? You're making me dizzy with your pacing," snapped an irritated Ron.

"How can I relax? The Ministry only gave them forty-five minutes opening to use the Floo Network from the Dursleys to here. Forty minutes has come and gone, but still no sign of Harry!"

"Maybe they're running behind in packing," shrugged Ron. "You know how messy Harry can be, especially if he's at his relatives' place. No house-elf to pick up after himself and all."

At the mention of house-elf Hermione stopped her pacing and fixed Ron with a glare that would've skewered him alive if it had been a real spear coming out of her eyes. She was still uptight about the whole house-elf slavery thing and doesn't want to hear a pip about it; she was still working on trying to free all of Hogwarts' house-elves.

Ginny watched on the sidelines as Ron and Hermione were at it again. Honestly they argued like an old married couple--and they haven't even admitted their feelings for each other yet! She was only dragged to wait here in the living room for Harry's arrival by Hermione who was practically jumping for joy at the prospect of seeing Harry again after worrying about him so much (honestly Ginny began to wonder _whom_ Hermione liked more: Harry or Ron) since the beginning of summer. She would've been alright sitting in her room whiling away the time until Harry's arrival, but she didn't want to raise Hermione's suspicion on _why_ she doesn't want to join in on the welcome wagon so she went.

Now she wished she hadn't. She has had enough of listening to her brother and the love of his life (but he was too damn thick to admit it!) argue about petty things. Excusing herself from them, she got up from her seat and walked around Hermione, passing by the fireplace, and was headed back upstairs to wait in her room. She was making sure she wasn't within reach of Hermione's flailing arm (she was jabbing at the direction of the fireplace at Ron) when out of the blue her breath was suddenly knocked out of her.

Ginny fell with a resounding _THUD!_ on the Weasley's living room floor. On top of her was a soot-covered _something_ coughing a lung or two out.

Hermione and Ron stopped their bickering and turned to check out what the commotion was about. Ginny was pinned to the floor by a lanky looking boy with sooty dark hair that stood out in all directions and wore oversized clothing.

"_Ginny!_" exclaimed a frantic Hermione.

"_Harry!_" called out Ron and was out of his seat in a flash. He crossed the small space between them and helped his best mate off his kid sister. "What the hell?" He demanded after he helped him up.

Hermione rushed to Ginny's aid and helped her get off the floor as well. Some soot was transferred over to her and Hermione helped Ginny dust them off.

"What's the big idea tackling Ginny like that, Harry?" scolded Hermione, her previous worry of Harry's delayed arrival gone in a flash.

"Sorry," apologized Harry, coughing out the last of the soot he inhaled when he excited the Floo Network. "It was going out of control and I _needed_ to exit it right away. I would've called out a warning, but I needed to jump out of the loop before I missed my stop," he explained.

"And you decided to use _me_ to cushion your fall, is that it?" Ginny snapped, glaring a hole right through the Boy Who Lived's skull.

"I'm sorry," Harry gave her an honest-to-goodness apologetic look. "I was just in a right mood to finally get away from Privet Drive that I couldn't wait to get off at my stop."

"If my back, sides or any part of my person turns black and blue, _you_ will have some _major_ explaining to do," Ginny snapped and with her head held high, stormed out of the leaving room, leaving the Golden Trio staring after her with their mouths hanging open.

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HE HAD BEEN at the Burrow for three weeks and still Ginny wouldn't cut him a bit of slack. What happened to the camaraderie they formed the year before? Was that all just a dream to him? He thought he finally gained another close ally in Ginny Weasley, but since his arrival at his best friend's house, he barely saw the feisty female Weasley offspring.

"Are you sure she's not mad at me?" Harry asked Hermione for the umpteenth time when they--him, Ron and Hermione--were in the backyard doing some yard work.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Harry? Ginny's not mad at you. She didn't even turn any shade of purple after you tackled her when you arrived."

"If so, how come she's spent more time locked up in her room as opposed to hanging out with us? What is so damn fascinating in her room anyway?"

Ron stopped and regarded his friend carefully after throwing a garden Gnome as far away as he possibly could. "Why are you being bothered by it anyway? You used to never give a damn on whether Ginny pays attention to you or not."

"I never gave a damn before 'coz back then she at least said 'hi' or showed her face around the Burrow," Harry pointed out.

"Ginny's just going through some stuff," shrugged Hermione and pulled out a wriggling Gnome from where it buried itself as deep as it could go into the ground.

"Like?" Harry and Ron asked at the same time.

"Just stuff. She doesn't say much to me, you know? And Merlin knows I tried to get through to her and help her out of this funk that's clouding her usually sunny disposition, but she's being thick in the head and wouldn't want to accept my friendly offer."

"Does it have anything to do with her boyfriend, you think?" asked Harry.

"_Boyfriend?_" echoed Ron, "Last time I heard she and that Corner guy broke up because he was a sore loser after Gryffindor beat Ravenclaw in Quidditch."

"Didn't she show interest in Dean during our train ride home?" mused Harry, seeking Hermione out to get a confirmation.

"I remember her saying that on the train ride home," she nodded.

"But she hadn't been in touch with Dean since we all parted ways at Kings Cross!"

Hermione and Harry both cocked an eyebrow at Ron's naivetie.

"They could've stayed in touch in more ways than one, Ron," said Hermione exasperatedly. "Honestly, you're so damn clueless at times it's unbelievable how you manage to get on with life."

"Hey, I resent that!" answered Ron indignantly. "I am not always clueless, you know? I am quite the perceptive person." He puffed out his chest and looked down his at Hermione.

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes at him and waved her two friends off. "I'm going inside for something to drink. I've had it de-Gnoming the garden. There's just too many of them to get rid of!"

"You don't think I'm perceptive then?" Ron sounded offended that Hermione didn't give his claim two figs of her time. He followed her back to the Burrow, leaving Harry standing in the middle of the backyard following his two bickering best friends with his eyes.

Once Ron and Hermione were inside Harry shook his head at them and rolled his eyes skyward. Something on the second floor window of the Weasley's home caught his attention. A slight movement from Ginny's bedroom window and upon closer inspection, Harry caught a glimpse of Ginny looking down at them from her bedroom. He partially raised his arm up to wave at her, but Ginny disappeared in a flash.

"_What_ is wrong with you, Ginny Weasley?" Harry hissed to himself.

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**TBC**


	3. Tensions Afoot! Rumours Ablaze!

**Summary:** _She thought she was over him; but one adventure-filled school year later, old feelings started to resurface..._

**Disclaimer:** _Not Mine. Never Was & Never Will. I just love playing around with these characters and give them a little something-something to get them out of the norm HP World stuff._

**PhoenixRae's Notes:**_ To those who reviewed so far, thanks so much. I know this is not really my usual ship. I have no idea why I started it to begin with, but for a long time now I've been plagued with plot idea to use for a Harry & Ginny pairing. I don't particularly like reading Harry/Ginny fics because a lot of them are filled with fluffiness that...well, let's just say that I don't like too much Harry/Ginny fluff so I'll try not to have too much of that on here. Actually, this is kinda my take on the whole Harry/Ginny relationship. I received a couple of suggestions on having a "jealous Harry" around. That may come into play later on, but we'll see where this plot idea of mine leads me. Maybe Draco will come into play later on in the story too, but please bear in mind that in as much as I love Draco/Ginny pairings, alas, my fave ship won't get together in this fic..._

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**III. Tension's Afoot! Rumours Ablaze!**

GINNY BOARDED the Hogwarts Express on the first of September ahead of her brother and his two best friends. She quickly looked around for an empty compartment, but was unlucky in finding one that hasn't been occupied yet. Near the end of the last carriage she found an almost deserted compartment with the exception of a blond girl seated by the window engrossed in reading the latest edition of Teen Witch Weekly.

"Hi Luna!" Ginny greeted after she entered the compartment. "You don't mind if I join you, do you? Everywhere else is full."

Luna Lovegood, a fifth year Ravenclaw, peered up from the magazine she was reading.

"Is Harry with you again this year?"

"No. I got on the train before he did," Ginny gave a careless shrug as she hoisted her bag on the overhead compartment. "Why'd you ask?" She didn't really want to know _why_ Loony Lovegood wanted to know if Harry-Damn-Potter was with her or not, but something inside her was irked by Luna's interest in her brother's best friend that she couldn't help but satiate that interest.

"Just wondering," was Luna's non-committal reply.

Ginny wanted to strangle her then. Why the heck would she be asking her such question if it was nothing? And _why_ was she getting so riled up over something as petty as Luna Lovegood asking about Harry Potter's whereabouts?

A few minutes later the subject of their earlier discussion manifested at the compartment's doorway. He looked out of breath and tired.

"Why'd you ignore me, Gin?" were Harry's first words to her as soon as he entered the compartment. "I was calling for you to wait up for me. You know Ron and Hermione were off with the Head Boy and Girl."

"Sorry. I didn't hear you calling me, and you looked far too busy discussing something with them so I just went ahead," she answered nonchalantly.

"My voice nearly got hoarse trying to get your attention." He looked mighty miffed at her. Now why in tarnation would he be pissed off? Who was she in his life anyway? Did she suddenly become a stand-in for Ron and Hermione in Harry's life now that his two best friends are Prefects?

"I said I didn't hear you. God, what more do you want me to do, grovel at your feet and _beg?_" Why was he being such a pain in the rectum?

Harry looked taken aback by her snippy remark. He gave her a funny look then hauled his things up on the overhead compartment. He took his seat across from hers; his eyebrows furrowed in the middle and crossed his arms over his chest. Ginny averted her face and pretended to sleep. She'd better get her feelings sorted out before they reached Hogwarts. She was acting like she was on permanent PMS high whenever Harry was around.

"Is there trouble in paradise?" came Luna's off the chart question.

Ginny's eyes pried open and stared wide-eyed at the blonde Ravenclaw. Even Harry, who didn't notice her presence in the compartment until she spoke, turned to stare at her wide-eyed.

"What are you talking about, Lovegood?" it was Harry who voiced out the question.

"I sense a great deal of tension between the two of you. Did you two, by any chance, hooked up over the summer and now you're having some lover's spat?" She eyed Ginny first then Harry before returning her gaze back to the flabbergasted redhead.

"Did you get your hands on some Firewhiskey by any chance before you boarded the train, Luna?" Ginny asked.

"No. But anybody would sense what I sensed with just one look at the two of you," she shrugged.

"I stayed at the Weasley's this summer, Lovegood, but Ginny and I didn't hook up over the summer," explained Harry.

"Sure, sure," Luna didn't sound like she believed them. "And I don't read _The Quibbler_."

Harry and Ginny both couldn't believe what Luna was implying.

"There you are Harry!" exclaimed Neville Longbottom cheerily and entered the compartment, but as soon as he set foot inside his smile faded and gave both Harry and Ginny a concerned look. "_Whoa!_ Did you two have a fight? Weren't you nice to Ginny, Harry? I know you have a temper when you're miffed, and Ginny being a redhead," he sent Ginny an apologetic look, "I mean no disrespect here, Ginny, but most redheads I know have tempers that flares up and spreads like wild forest fires. And in relationships, it's only normal to get into an argument with the other person, you know?"

For the second time in the span of less than ten minutes, both Harry and Ginny were rendered speechless by another schoolmate. First Luna was implying they hooked up and had a lover's spat. Now Neville was saying pretty much the same thing Luna implied.

* * *

RUMOUR QUICKLY took off like wildfire all over the school, and by next day Ginny's mood turned from black to sinisterly dark. She was shooting sharp glares at anyone who dared ask her if she and Harry Potter were going out or went out or will be going out at some point in time, preferably sometime in the near future before the Boy Who Lived left Hogwarts. She already bit off quite a few of her housemates' heads when they dared asked her what was going on with her and Harry. Neville, who was one of the two people who first instigated that there was something was going on between her and Harry, was feeling sorrier than the sorriest person she knew.

"I didn't mean for things to go out of hand like this," Neville apologized when he finally mustered up the courage to walk up to a stewing Ginny Thursday morning of the following week after school started. They were the only two people in the common room and Neville seized his moment then.

Ginny knew it was pointless to get mad at Neville. After all, he wasn't the most likely suspect who started this outrageous rumour about her and Harry Potter. He was merely at the train compartment with them and made that assumption when he sensed something was amiss.

"It's alright, Neville. I know you wouldn't deliberately start something like this."

"Thanks Ginny!" For the first time in the last few days Neville looked relieved. "Don't worry, if I hear people talking about you and Harry I'll make sure to step in and put a stop to it," he promised.

"That's sweet of you, Nev," smiled Ginny. She was touched by the kindness in the usually klutzy Gryffindor. "But I don't want you getting into scraps defending us."

"Hey, _we're_ Gryffindors! And we Gryffindors stick together, you know?" Neville puffed out his chest, jutted his chin in the air and smiled proudly at his housemate.

"Thanks," was all Ginny could say before making her excuse and headed for the Great Hall.

The rumours hadn't receded as the days went by. By the end of September the rumours escalated even more and now there were talks of a possible Harry-Ginny marriage in the future if both of them survived this new war with the Dark Lord. Ron, who had been hounding her from day one about the rumour, nearly hexed the pants off a cocky Slytherin fifth year that came up to him and ridiculed such pairing. Good thing Hermione was nearby and pulled Ron back from doing something that they knew would land him in detention (probably with Snape since _he_ was the prat's head of house) and points docked off Gryffindor for causing some brutally major bodily harm to a fellow student.

Hermione managed to hold off the inevitable confrontation Ron had been itching to have with Harry at least until the first week of October, around the time Gryffindor was holding out tryouts for new Beaters and Chasers for their team.

"Harry, can I talk to you?" asked Ron before they left the sixth year boy's dorm room to head out to the pitch to watch potential new players tryout for the open positions.

Harry wondered when Ron would corner him and ask what he had a gut-feeling had been eating the lanky redhead alive practically since the rumours started flying a month ago.

"Sure. What's up?"

"Are you going out with my sister?"

Harry was surprised by Ron's straightforwardness. He knew at the back of his head his best mate would come up to him and ask him that, but he didn't expect Ron to _not_ beat around the bush.

"What made you think that, Ron?"

Ron cocked an eyebrow, his arms firmly crossed over his chest. Harry knew he was serious and now wouldn't be a good time to joke around with the temperamental redhead.

"Look, those rumours are all crazy, alright? You were with us the entire summer!" He exclaimed. "If your sister and I hooked up, _you'd_ know. There's no way I'd hide it from you and Hermione," he pointed out, which was true. Even if he _tried_ to hide such relationship (_if_ such relationship would exist between himself and Ginny Weasley), there was no way, no how he'd be able to keep it a secret this long from them!

"Are you sure?" Ron still didn't sound like he believed his best mate's claim.

Harry couldn't believe that Ron would believe those rumours than his best mate's word.

"Why don't you ask Ginny yourself if you don't want to believe me? Right now we need to get to the pitch. We have a huge list of people wanting to tryout for the open positions." Harry didn't wait for Ron to speak. He stepped around him and walked out of the Gryffindor Common Room without another word.

* * *

GINNY FELT LIKE HER WHOLE body was being crushed by a hundred ton boulder the day after the Gryffindor Quidditch Tryout. She did her best and showed her what she was made of last night. She went for either the Chaster or Beater position, but she found herself enjoying hitting the Bludgers more than catching and shooting the Quaffle. Although there was a moment last night while she had the orange Quaffle in her hands and was aiming for one of the three ring hoops that she was tempted to hit her brother smack on the face. Ever since Ron found out _she_ wanted to try out for the team he had been close to impossible to get along with. Not to mention every time Harry and her were discussing something or when Harry was asking her to execute a certain move or dive she felt her brother's piercing glare on her. It was damn friggin' annoying!

Thankful that it was Sunday, Ginny had every intention of staying inside the Common Room or in her own dorm room and sleep the rest of the day away. Rounding down the steps, she nearly missed her footing when she ran into the last person she wanted to be seen within close proximities at the moment, especially when her brother was around.

Annoyed as she might be with these feelings of hers for him, Ginny knew staying mad at Harry when he hadn't done _anything_ to her was simply stupid and childish. Besides, she knew with all this rumour buzzing around, Ron was doing his damnedest to make Harry's life miserable.

"G'morning," she greeted. "You're done eating breakfast already?" she asked when she noticed he was heading back upstairs.

"Good morning," Harry greeted back. "Actually I haven't eaten breakfast yet. I was up earlier than usual thinking of _who_ to pick for the open positions for our team," he admitted.

Ginny's eyebrow rose a fraction of an inch. "You mean everyone who tried out were that good?" she teased.

"More or less," he shrugged.

"Well, have you made up your mind on who were the lucky ones picked?" She didn't know why, but her heart started to pound harder against her chest. Half of her wanted to make it to the team while the other half wanted her to be cut off the team entirely. It was the thought of spending countless hours practicing with Harry at the pitch, watching him fly, soar through the sky and hear him yell out orders to the rest of the team now that he was made Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team made her feel all warm and tingly inside.

Harry gave her that slow, uncertain smile of his and shrugged again. "You'll just have to wait along with the others to find out who made it in the team," he answered vaguely.

"And _when_ will you be posting the new roster?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"What? You're going to make me wait twenty-four hours?"

"Yep. You'll just have to wait along with the rest of the Gryffindor household."

Ginny's eyebrow rose higher. "You are a big meanie," she accused.

"Why thank you," Harry smiled proudly and took an exaggerated bow before her. When he straightened up, his green eyes were twinkling with mischievous delight, his hand clutching the piece of parchment containing the names of the new members of Gryffindor Quidditch team. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm tired and sleepy. I want to get at least forty winks before everyone gets up and heads downstairs for breakfast." He stepped aside and climbed the stairs.

Ginny moved aside letting him pass, but just as he was passing her, she made a scoop for the parchment in his hands. Harry was caught off-guard by her action, by the time he realized what Ginny was up to it was already too late.

"_Yes!_" She exclaimed as she held the parchment in her hand.

"_Hey!_" Harry made a grab for the parchment, but Ginny moved it away from his grasp. "You give that back to me!" he demanded.

Ginny ran the last few steps and at the bottom turned to face him, an impish grin on her elfin, freckled face. "No." She answered simply and waved the parchment before her. "The others can find out about the roster tomorrow, but _I_ will find out about it now."

"Oh no, you won't. Give me that!" Harry made a dive for her intent on snatching the parchment away. Ginny stepped aside quickly and all Harry grabbed was thin air. He was momentarily disoriented and tried to get his bearings straight.

Ginny giggled, catching his attention, before dashing off towards the portrait hole. Harry knew he had to move fast and was after her in a flash. He grabbed a handful of her shirt, which prevented her from taking another step unless she wanted to leave the Gryffindor Tower with a ripped top or worse, naked from the waist up.

"I got you now, Ginny Weasley," Harry said proudly. "Now, hand over the parchment, please?" He wriggled the fingers of his other free hand, waiting for her to hand over the parchment.

"Let go of me first," Ginny demanded.

"No. Not until I have the roster list in my hand."

"Why don't we do it at the same time? I hand you the parchment and you let go of me, how's that?" She bargained.

Harry's forehead creased at the center. Something about her suggestion didn't ring true to him. She was Fred and George Weasley's siblings after all; she took after her brothers so damn much. The twins' influence on her was evident since the previous year, he'd be daft to trust her word.

"Alright," he agreed, "On the count of three. One…two...three!" Ginny's hand hovered a few inches above his open palm, but she was taking her sweet old time dropping the parchment. When his palm felt her knuckles brushed against it his hold on her shirt slacked; that was a wrong move.

Ginny pulled back her hand bolted away from him. But Harry was prepared for her going back on her word. He quickly clamped his arm around her waist before she could bolt away and pulled the feisty redhead towards him. He wasn't expecting the sheer force of their impact and they were both thrown back on to the floor.

Ginny's surprised shrieked pierced the quiet Common Room, echoing off the walls of the tower and penetrating each student's dorm room. Harry's breath was momentarily knocked out of him when he hit the floor, but at incessant wriggling he tightened his arm around her waist, making her shriek louder and indeed attracted an audience for the two of them wrestling in the middle of the Common Room floor.

Harry's other hand clamped around Ginny's wrist where she held the roster list, adding some pressure on the wrist, but Ginny proved to be one tough cookie. She fought him for control and her grip never wavered. She managed to flip herself to her front and tried to push herself off Harry by digging the heel of her other free hand on his chest. Harry yelped and bucked, but his grip on her wrist remained tight.

They were locked in a somewhat compromising position by now; Harry on his back on the floor with Ginny sprawled on his chest. From the onlookers who were watching on the balcony, they looked like a pair of lovers having a tryst right in the middle of the Common Room floor. It certainly looked that way to Ron when he peered over the balcony and saw his best mate and sister wrestling with each other and having a gay old time on the floor.

"_Oi!_" He bellowed, his eyes glaring a hole at the couple causing such spectacle. "Get your hands off my sister! And get off my sister!"

Ginny and Harry froze from fighting over the roster list in her hand at the sound of Ron's scandalized voice.

"Oh _bugger,_" groaned Ginny and hung her head forward, her arm supporting her weight off him gave.

Harry's grip on her wrist slackened as well as the fiery redhead's forehead touched his chest. He lifted his head six inches off the cool floor and squinted at the balcony where a lot of their housemates were gathered watching the spectacle the two of them created. He saw Ron, his nostrils flaring and smoke coming out of them as well as his ears, standing in the center of it all with Hermione behind him. From where Harry lay on the floor he knew if Ron was within arm's length (and if Hermione hadn't had a hand on his arm) he would've clobbered his best mate up or hexed him, whichever one was more convenient or he could do both to him.

* * *

**TBC**


	4. I Said I'm Sorry Already!

**Summary:** _She thought she was over him; but one adventure-filled school year later, old feelings started to resurface..._

**Disclaimer:** _Not Mine. Never Was & Never Will. I just love playing around with these characters and give them a little something-something to get them out of the norm HP World stuff._

**PhoenixRae's Notes:**_ I know this took me a while to update, and I apologize for that. Since the beginning of August my life's taken a different turn -- I suddenly got busy and I am currently juggling two jobs so it's kinda hard for me to sit down in front of my computer and TYPE. Also, I finished reading HBP so **SPOILERS** from the book are afoot in this chapter. I will try to keep certain events from HBP intertwined with this fic of mine since that'll only make sense in a way. As always suggestions, reviews, opinions are always welcome. Enjoy!_

* * *

**IV. I Said I'm Sorry Already!**

RON'S COLD-SHOULDER TREATMENT of his sister and best mate was fast becoming an annoyance as far as Harry and Ginny were concerned. Even Hermione was getting fed-up with Ron's stubbornness. It has caused a rift between the four of them, but Ron doesn't seem to mind.

"I already explained to him what _really_ happened, but he still won't listen!" An irritated Ginny stomped angrily on the ground after Gryffindor's first Quidditch practice. "I swear I'd like to wring his neck with my bare hands and shake some sense into him."

Harry knew what Ginny meant. Ron was being too damn difficult he was starting to have second thoughts about giving him the Keeper position. His mood was affecting his game performance (in the _worse_ possible way too!).

"I guess we'll just have to let him cool off a bit," shrugged Harry as he stepped aside to let her pass first through the Entrance Hall threshold.

"Cool off?" echoed Ginny incredulously. "How much longer will we have to wait for _that_ to happen?"

"Hopefully not too long," he muttered, following her up the stairs, taking the shortcut to get to Gryffindor tower.

They reached the Fat Lady's portrait while deep in conversation still about Ron and his increasing animosity towards them. Ginny was debating on whether she should hex her brother so he'd lay off glaring a hole on the skulls or just give him a good uppercut to _really_ knock some sense to him. Harry, on the other hand, preferred to avoid his best mate until his head's finally cleared. Causing some bodily harm towards Ron wouldn't be the answer even if it does sound appealing at the moment. After a while (more like after the Fat Lady let out an annoyed snort for being kept from her much anticipated rest time) Ginny gave her the password and stepped through the portrait hole. Inside the Common Room was nearly deserted, except for Hermione and a few other students finishing their homework. She sat near the fireplace and stood up the moment she saw the two walked in.

"About damn time you two decided to show up!" she scolded.

Harry and Ginny stopped their talking and turned, wide-eyed, to Hermione. What has gotten her knickers in a knot?

"Do you two have any idea how close to insanity Ron was when you two didn't return with the rest of the team?" she pressed on, her hands on her waist as she glared at the two. "I didn't think Ron would have as much of a vivid imagination until he started spitting out his theories on where and _what_ you two were doing since you weren't back yet."

Ginny merely cocked an eyebrow at that. Harry was too stunned to say anything. Hermione was still fuming as she recounted what Ron was obsessing about. First he figured Harry and Ginny decided to stay behind in the change room and do Merlin knows whatnot with each other ("They'd probably be snogging each other senseless by now, and all over the change room!"), then when fifteen minutes elapsed and still no sign of them entering the Common Room, Ron's temper flared and he was pacing back and forth thinking up ways to make Harry pay for whatever he might be doing to his sister ("She's my baby sister!").

Ginny listened to Hermione's explanation for another minute before she held up her hand and stopped her from continuing. She has heard enough to make her fists ball up tightly and wanted to punch the lights out of her brother.

"That git," she hissed angrily her nostril flaring too. "I say he needs a good snogging to get him out of this crazy idea of thinking the _worse_ of me!"

"You can't really blame your brother, Gin. He's just worried about you, you know?"

"I appreciate him being worried and all. He's entitled to it 'coz after all he _is_ my big brother. But him starting to think _that low_ of me?" Ginny cocked an eyebrow and met Hermione's gaze, "Don't you think that's going a bit overboard?"

"Where is Ron now?" asked Harry who finally decided to join the two girls' conversation.

Hermione broke eye contact with Ginny and addressed her other best mate. "He went upstairs about two minutes before you and Ginny walked in. I don't know if he's already asleep or not, but he was in a right mood to bite anyone's head off that crossed his path," she warned.

"Great," mumbled Harry. "Now I have to be careful otherwise I'm going to lose my head the moment I entered our dorm room." He looked around the nearly empty Common Room and wondered if it would be alright to just sleep out here instead of upstairs in his nice, comfy bed.

"Don't even think about whimping out, Harry Potter," came Ginny's stern voice. "Don't let Ron's temper scare the bejeepers out of you. Most of the time my brother's all bark and no bite, I don't think he'll try and hex you in bed."

"Easy for you to say 'coz he's your brother and he has your parents to answer to when he does something bad to you."

Ginny cocked an eyebrow at that. "Excuse me? You'd think Mom and Dad wouldn't skin him alive if he did so much as harm a hair on your messy-haired head?"

"Ginny's right," agreed Hermione. "And I don't really think Ron would go as far as _literally_ killing you. He'll probably try to punch you or something just to let off steam, but to out and out do you in? He would have to be under the Imperius Curse to do that!"

* * *

GINNY CORNERED HARRY THE next morning before they went downstairs to breakfast. According to Harry, Ron was already gone when he woke up. 

"He's probably in the Great Hall already stuffing his face with food," muttered Ginny. "Anyway, Harry, I know Ron's been giving us the cold shoulder since a few weeks ago when he caught us wrestling on the floor. He already made up his mind then that we _are_ indeed together and that we lied to him about, you know, us going out," she shrugged.

"I explained to him over and over again that we are not seeing each other. Heck, I even pointed out to him that _you_ said you fancied Dean Thomas on our train ride home last year, but he wouldn't want to listen to me."

"I know. I told him that I like Dean," Ginny bit her tongue as soon as she let the lie out, but she'd given it a lot of thought since last night's discussion and she did fancy Dean Thomas, but not as much as she fancied Harry Potter. _Oh stop that, Ginevra!_ She mentally scolded herself, _Think here, THINK! You need to get your brother off yours and Harry's back. Dean sought you out already and asked for a Hogsmeade date next weekend that you agreed to, so better not screw it up by fancying your former crush._

"You do?" Harry looked shocked at her admission, his green eyes widen. "You _really_ fancy Dean?"

Ginny couldn't help but be surprised at his reaction. Didn't he take her seriously last year when she let it slip she was considering Dean Thomas for her next boyfriend?

"What is so unbelievable about that?" she asked.

"N-nothing," he stammered. "Anyway, so you told Ron that there's nothing going on between us and that you like Dean. Did he believe you?"

"No. So I figured if he doesn't want to listen to us when we talk to him separately, why not talk to him at the same time. I'm thinking he should be done eating by now and as soon as he steps out of the Great Hall we grab him to the side and give him a piece of our mind," she suggested.

"Do you think he'll listen then?" he asked.

"He has to," Ginny answered smugly, jutting her chin high and a slow, mischievous grin forming on her lips. "I'm going on a date with Dean next weekend at Hogsmeade. Ron can confirm that with Dean if he wanted to, and besides, he'll see for himself that Dean and I will be spending a lot of time together next weekend."

* * *

HARRY DIDN'T KNOW WHY HE FELT like someone just sucker-punched him in the gut. He watched Ginny from where he was hanging out with Hermione and Ron (yes, Ron _finally_ conceded to believing that what he saw was nothing but just two friends playing around and nothing more) at Hogsmeade at the Three Broomstick. She was seated with the sixth year inside one of the booths at the establishment having a merry good time. 

Ginny was all smiles and giggly as she cozied up next to her date. They were sharing a large glass of Butterbeer and she didn't seem to mind having Dean's arm around her. He had to admit they made a good couple, but something inside Harry, some deep-seethed monster roaring to be unleashed, kept on making him see green whenever Dean affectionately bestow a kiss on either Ginny's cheek or forehead.

He and Ginny cornered Ron last weekend during breakfast. Ron put up a fight, but after Ginny threatened her brother to be given her famous Bat Bogey Hex, the redhead boy finally conceded to talking to them. They both explained to him _why_ they were caught on top of each other right in the middle of the Common Room floor that morning a few weeks ago.

"It was my fault, Ron," Ginny admitted. "I wanted to take a peek at who made the team and grabbed the roster list from Harry," she explained.

"I chased her around the Common Room, of course, because I wanted her to hand the list back to me. But you're sister's one stubborn witch, so I was forced to take drastic measures just so I can get the list back from her," he added.

Harry didn't think Ron would ease-up after that explanation, but it was the truth. He could give them both Veriteserum and they'd still say the same thing. After what seemed like forever, Ron took a deep breath, hung his head forward and nodded.

"Sorry for acting like a complete prat," he apologized lifting his head up and meeting his sister and friend's gaze. "But c'mon, anybody who saw you two that morning would assume that you two _are_ together," he insisted.

Harry couldn't fault him on that account. If he were in his best mate's shoes and he caught his kid sister on the floor practically on top of his best made, he'd probably jump to Merlin knows how many conclusions as well.

Now seated at one of the tables inside the Three Broomstick with his two best mates, Harry's attention kept on wandering off to the couple over yonder who were having a gay old time. He didn't believe Ginny at first when she told him she fancied Dean, but now…well, action spoke louder than words and he couldn't help from clenching and unclenching his fist.

"What's wrong with you, Harry? You don't seem to be focusing on what we're talking about here," nudged Hermione who was seated beside him.

"Yeah. What are you so interested about?" asked Ron who then started craning his neck here and there in search of the reason why Harry wasn't giving them his hundred percent.

Harry slowly pulled himself back together, gave Dean and Ginny one last look before he met his friends' gaze.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I'm just thinking about what Malfoy's up to these days."

Hermione and Ron both raised an eyebrow at his lame excuse.

"Come again?" asked Hermione.

Harry made a face at her and explained, "He hasn't bothered any of us in a while. He keeps on disappearing and often seen flocked by a lot of people. Do you think he's plotting something to help aide Voldemort?" He caught Hermione giving him a look that said she wasn't buying this excuse he provided them with, but whether she believed him or not she didn't voice it out loud. She sat there and listened to him intently giving all the possible excuses he could think of to account for the blond-haired Slytherin Prefect's lack of presence in school lately.

He was right in the middle of a somewhat colourful explanation when an ear-piercing scream from outside the pub was heard. A moment's silence engulfed the students inside before one by one chair legs scratching the floor was heard and each student came rushing out of the Three Broomsticks.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were the first three on the scene. They were momentarily rooted on the spot they were standing on as they watched, in awed disbelief, the scene before them. Katie Bell, the seventh year Gryffindor Chaser, was suspended in the air screaming as if someone (or some_thing_) was ripping her insides out; on the ground at her feet stood her close friend, Leanne, who was also screaming.

"Help her! Somebody help her!" Leanne kept on screaming, tears streaming down her cheeks as she looked from the growing crowd around them back to her best friend who was still screaming. "Anybody…_do something!_"

"Call Professor McGonagall!" Hermione ordered one of the second years who was hovering nearby. "_Hurry!_"

"What's going on?" Ginny elbowed her way and materialized beside Harry with Dean right behind her. "What's all the screaming about?"

"It's Katie. She's cursed or something," Harry answered.

"Oh my God!" she gasped as she looked up and saw the blonde Chaser hovering overhead. "Did anybody call for help?"

"Hermione ordered one of the second years to call Professor McGonagall," answered Ron.

Within minutes Professor McGonagall, followed by Filch and Hagrid, arrived with a harrid (terror-stricken even) look on her face. She stared wide-eyed at the seventh year Chaser still hovering in the air. She waved her wand around, calling out all possible spells to break the curse that took over the poor student, but it was to no avail. Katie was screaming to the top of her lungs in pain; Harry watched her face contort as she too tried to battle the curse, but she was slowly losing the battle. He couldn't help watch one of his dear friends, albeit not close, but he has spent quite a lot of time with Katie on the pitch during practices and games as well as off the pitch to care for her, go through this and he was just standing there doing _nothing!_

He wracked his brains for any possible spells he learned or read that might've come in handy right now, but he couldn't think of any. Katie's shrieks pierced his ears, making him clench his fists tightly and slowly hating himself for not doing something. Just when he thought it was too late to do something, everyone watched and gasped as one when Katie's shrieking stopped and she was momentarily frozen in the air before her limp, nearly lifeless body, fell with a loud thud on the ground. It was a good thing Hagrid was around and he caught her just in the nick of time before she pummeled to the ground and possible broke her neck.

"Take her to the infirmary, Hagrid," ordered McGongall at once, shooing the giant back to the castle before she turned to address the rest of the crowd gathered around. "Who was with Ms. Bell when this happened?"

"I-I was," answered Katie's friend meekly, stepping up before their Head of House.

McGonagall turned to face her then and proceeded to question her about the events leading to Katie being cursed. Leanne explained, as best as she could in-between hiccups and sobs, exactly what happened. McGonagall listened intently then told the girl to go back to the castle as well and go see Madam Pomfrey for something to take to help ease off the shock she just received. She remained to question everybody else who witnessed what happened. Not a lot of witnesses came forward mainly because most of them were inside the Three Broomstick when they heard Katie and Leanne's screams.

* * *

KATIE WAS SENT TO ST MUNGO'S to be properly treated. According to Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey; she sustained quite a blow with whatever curse she was hit with. It would take a while for her to recover back to full her full health. 

"Damn," muttered Harry slumping on the armchair near the fireplace. "With Katie out of commission we're a Chaser short."

Ron and Hermione joined him in the Common Room. Hermione took the seat across from him while Ron sat on the area rug and leaned his elbow on the coffee table.

"You should consider replacing Katie for the meantime," suggested Hermione.

"She should be out of St Mungo's before the first match of the season," Harry said confidently.

Ron and Hermione exchanged looks. Even though they both wanted Katie to be back in commission before the first game of the season, they both knew after what they just witnessed today that it would be close to impossible to have their Chaser back.

"We know she'll pull through, Harry, but be realistic here, mate," chided Ron. "That wasn't just some prank curse that hit her. It was the real thing."

"Luckily Katie's made of stronger stuff and she survived it," added Hermione.

Harry was still contemplating Hermione's suggestion when the portrait door opened and in came Ginny arm-in-arm with Dean Thomas. The two of them were in deep discussion over something (probably what happened earlier to Katie). He couldn't help his gaze from wandering to where the couple stood, still deep in discussion. His forehead creased to a deep V. He didn't like seeing Ginny all cozied up with Dean.

Hermione, who noticed Harry's lack of interest in their on-going conversation once again, followed her friend's gaze and it zeroed in on the couple standing a few feet away from them. Cocking an eyebrow, Hermione looked back and forth from Harry to Ginny and Dean then back to Harry again.

Could it be? No, it can't be! But Harry looked like he was close to clobbering Dean with a Beater's club right at that very moment!

Hermione was having a hard time processing what she just witnessed. If it had been _Ginny_ she saw in Harry's shoes at this very moment she wouldn't be thinking twice about it, but this was _Harry_ she was talking about. Her best friend since their first year at Hogwarts; the one boy who was every so clumsily _in love_ with Cho Chang since third year was now…

"Hoooo-boy," Hermione whistled under her breath and quickly averted her gaze.

Ron only gave her a puzzled look. Clearly he hadn't noticed anything amiss with their friend and she was glad he was clueless otherwise he'd ensue case of 'cold war' with Harry. She made a mental note to talk to Harry about this recent discovery of hers – _without_ Ron within earshot. She just wasn't sure how their friend would handle finding out that his b

* * *

**TBC**


End file.
